Updates on COVID-19: When Are The Vaccines Coming?
- sdiyanair
- Sep 16, 2020
- 4 min read
9 Months. It has been 9 months since the COVID-19 pandemic has had its rise. It is crazy to think that we have been in isolation for over a year with no end in sight. Fortunately, a lot has changed since the beginning of COVID-19, and immense progress has been made. Overall, one thing’s for sure, all countries and states have handled this global pandemic differently. One thing to keep in mind is that it is hard to provide the latest information on COVID-19 due to a constant inflow of new information.
According to the NY Times, there are 29M+ cases worldwide, with around 924K+ deaths as of Sept. 14, 2020. The US has been and still is number 1 in COVID-19 cases, with 6.5M+ cases and 194K+ deaths. Following the US, India comes in second with 4.8M+ cases and 79K+ deaths. An immense difference from our last COVID-19 update showing just how much can change within just a few weeks.
Over the past few months, scientists have spent countless researching and creating what they believe will be the COVID-19 vaccine of choice. Around 200 vaccines are currently in development with 24 vaccines in human clinical trials, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Additionally, at least 7 vaccines are now in Phase 3 and have been approved for limited use.
If you have recently been watching the news, you have probably heard about the Sputnik V vaccine. Russia has encountered a lot of scrutiny about this vaccine, with several politicians calling out Russia, questioning how safe this vaccine is and if it even exists. The Sputnik V vaccine was named after the world’s first satellite, launched by the Soviet Union, and is still in Phase 3 testing. It has been developed by the Gamaleya research institute under the close watch of the Russian Health Ministry. This vaccine contains two serotypes of the human adenovirus or common cold—each serotype carrying an S-antigen of the new coronavirus, which produces an immune response. Russian scientists actually developed the platform for this vaccine over 20 years ago and have used it as the basis for multiple vaccines in the past, including vaccines against Ebola. Results in the Lancet medical journal in their June-July editorial suggested that the vaccine produced an antibody response with no severe side effects in all of the 76 patients it was given to. According to the Russian Health Ministry, this vaccine could be available for public use by the end of October, raising skepticism in the general public and among health critics. Peter Drobac, an infectious disease medic at Oxford University, stated, “We have no idea that the claims that are being made about the safety and immune response of this virus are true or not.” While several other countries have already started to show interest in the Sputnik V vaccine, some countries remain suspicious about its legitimacy. Meanwhile, the Russian Direct Investment Fund has already signed deals to export the vaccine abroad to countries such as Brazil, once mass production has started.
Like the Sputnik V vaccine, there’s been some news with the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, which is currently in its Phase 3 trials. Earlier during the week of Sept. 12, AstraZeneca paused global trials due to an unexplained illness in one of the participants, a woman in the UK who experienced neurological symptoms consistent with a spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis. Her diagnosis wasn’t confirmed, but she started showing improvements and was then discharged. After this incident, phase three trials for the AstraZeneca vaccine resumed on Saturday, 9/12/2020, concluding that the illness was unrelated to the experimental vaccine. “The Company will continue to work with health authorities across the world and be guided as to when other clinical trials can resume to provide the vaccine broadly and at no profit during this pandemic,” AstraZeneca said in a statement. As of 9/14/2020, AstraZeneca’s vaccine still stands as one of the most promising vaccine candidates, along with Pfizer’s and Moderna’s, in late-stage trials. Moderna’s vaccine has made record progress and is now in phase 3 testing, with its stock prices soaring. Still, in development, the company is being lifted up by immense financial support from the United States government. Moderna’s vaccine is predicted to continue positively throughout its phase 3 trials.
For significant companies that have made immense progress, CEOs have signed a pledge to not seek FDA approvals or emergency use authorizations without a solid phase 3 approval. However, Russia has already approved its vaccine without being thoroughly tested. China has started administering a vaccine to military and healthcare workers, again, without having completed trials. Recently a highly politicized comment has captured the minds of many stating whether a vaccine will be available before the Nov. 3 US Presidential election. Even though some speculate that a vaccine will be ready, scientists and health experts are skeptical. They think that a vaccine will be ready by the end of 2020 or early 2021. WHO spokeswoman, Margaret Harris, stated in a UN briefing in Geneva, “...we are really not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year.”
When the first vaccines combating COVID-19 will actually be available is yet to be known, but tremendous progress has been made. Even if the vaccine comes as early as later this year, the real question remains, when will the vaccine be available for mass public usage? Dr. Anthony Fauci said, “...things won’t go completely back to normal until the end of 2021.” Letting us infer that most people in the US won’t even get a vaccine until mid-2021, even if one or more are approved in late 2020. Fauci also suggested that several different vaccines might be needed to bring an end to this pandemic as there won’t be a single ‘one-size-fits-all’ treatment.
Nevertheless, one thing we can say for sure is that the process of finding a vaccine has heavily sped up, and that brings along with it its own pros and cons. The usual method of creating a vaccine on average takes about 10.7 years! This is mainly because federal health officials typically force companies to do many large scale tests, which take a long time. However, they seem to be willing to let COVID-19 vaccines skip these tests but still get officially approved. With all of this work being done at such a rapid pace, we would like to take a moment to thank researchers and health experts for all their hard work. Stay Safe & Stay tuned for the next update!
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